January 2018

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Dear Friend,

There is a phrase in John 21 that captures my attention: They caught nothing. Seven seasoned fisherman, sweeping the Sea of Galilee with their net all night long, and not a single fish to show for it at sunrise. Then Jesus showed up on the shore, and suddenly their net was bursting.

I see Kelsey Simpson and Abby Wilson in that story. Kelsey is a Young Life leader who dropped her net daily into the deep sea of Abby’s life and caught nothing. Abby was a sophomore in high school when Kelsey first started chasing this illusive fish. Three years later, Kelsey’s net was still empty, but her heart was teeming with love for Abby.

“I helped Abby get ready for homecomings and chaperoned her proms,” Kelsey said. “I went to her tennis matches and sat next to her parents. Those three years, my heart was set on fire, and I felt a deep yearning for truth to change her life.”

Last summer, that yearning drove Kelsey to her knees on the floor of a fiberglass houseboat. “I prayed that this would be the week where Abby would see Jesus,” she said. The next day, Abby and her friends boarded the houseboat for a final Young Life adventure before college, and Kelsey cast her net into the waters of Abby’s life one last time. By the end of the week, Abby had trusted Jesus, and Kelsey’s heart was bursting like the net in John 21.

Thank you for supporting this mission. Thank you for launching leaders like Kelsey into the lives of kids like Abby with God’s redeeming love. It is a privilege to partner with you in Young Life.